Certain decoupled shading algorithms for three-dimensional graphics render color values for scene objects into one or more associated texture maps for the scene objects during an initial rendering pass. Final pixel values for the scene are then generated in a subsequent rendering pass using texture map sampling, which may be provided by specialized, high-performance texture sampling circuits. Entire texture maps are conventionally rendered to guarantee availability of all texels potentially required to generate a final pixel value. While decoupled shading can provide certain advantages, overall system efficiency can be degraded because a significant portion of texels rendered into the associated texture maps are not actually used. Thus, there is a need for addressing these issues and/or other issues associated with the prior art.